Machines
by Bewilderment
Summary: Lily and James are trained assassins, and are sent on a mission that will change their future. Between fighting for their lives, trying to kill a dictator, and living (or dying) on the edge, will they find love? R & R! Ch. 2!
1. Ryan and Melissa

**Machines**

_Pure Imagination_

Disclaimer: own nothing but plot, and some characters.

**Chap****ter: Ryan and Melissa**

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**Lily Evans stared at down at the card that bore her picture and credentials. She slid it fully out of the manila envelope she was holding, and studied it closer. _Lily Evans_, it said next to her photograph, _trained assassin_. Listed under it were her height, hair color, weight, and age. She crumpled the paper in her hand and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans, and continued walking towards her destination. 

Head up, hips swinging, hair swaying, Lily strutted over to a man of medium build. His muscles bulged from under his almost-tight-fitting shirt, and his eyes were gray and serious. His full lips nearly pouted from below his nose, which was turned up saucily towards the tip. "Here," she said, thrusting the manila envelope towards his chest. "I had to take a cab from Bristol to get this to you in time."

He grabbed it out of her hand, and flicked the contents out. Yes, there were his and Lily's pictures, although Lily's weren't as flattering as they should have been. The picture made her seem so…flat. Her looks were exquisite, from her dark, red-brown hair with streaks of black, to her finely shaped brown eyebrows and her flawless porcelain skin with the rose-tinted hue. Her green eyes were the most intense eyes he'd ever seen; so much action was packed into those orbs of emerald. Next, the man examined his own picture. He looked a little pale, but other than that, his finest features were apparent. Strong arms, thick black hair, impudent nose. Yes, he said to himself. Lily Evans and James Potter certainly was a fine-looking pair.

Suddenly, a car alarm's tinny siren pierced the quietness of the London park, and the tinkle of glass breaking reached their ears. Neither James nor Lily flinched, as did the other occupants of the park, but their senses were immediately on the lookout. James' hand found its way inside his leather coat pocket, inside of which was stowed a handgun. From the heel of Lily's boot came a knife, one she was skilled with throwing. Both of them faced the other way as two men, clad in black, made their way towards the two.

The pair pretended to be discussing some element of their photographs when two guns were pressed simultaneously to James and Lily's respective heads. They both snapped into action, as if a button, commanding them to fight, had been pressed.

Lily's hand reached back and the knuckles of her hand smashed into the man's eye. It all had happened so fast that he had no time to react before she used the heel of her hand to break his nose. In a second she'd punched his face a last time before she kneed his groin, and left him in a moaning, twitching heap on the ground. "Ready, James?" she called in his direction, picking off the ground the manila envelope that she'd dropped.

"One….second," he said with some effort. He was otherwise engaged, trying to fight the man who'd tried to kill him. James' hand was currently holding the man's fist, while his other had punched his opponent's face. Quick as a wink, the man lunged for James' stomach, only to be caught again, and this time, flipped. Lily took over from there, and while the man lay on the ground, she kicked him, effectively knocking him out. "Nice," said James. "Getting that pressure point and all."

Lily grinned at him. "Thanks," she replied. Her eyes ran over him. The sight of his body right now would be enough for many a woman to swoon, she thought. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his magnificent body, and, just as she'd been admiring that, he flicked a strand of hair back. She felt herself melt. "Well," she said, a little more briskly than usual. "I guess…if we're going to make the 12:15 to Glasgow." It sounded awkward, even to her.

James didn't seem to think so. "Shall we? Cruising from one capital to the next—exciting things, it is."

Lily nodded, and they continued their walk towards the train station, still remarking about the contents of that manila envelope. Lily groaned, looking towards her future afternoon, where another long train ride lay. The things they did to look like Muggles.

* * *

James leaned towards Lily, his eyes darker than usual. "How could they have found out about this? We took extra precaution, I thought." 

Lily nodded, her eyes on the scenery flying by. "We cleaned everything, and didn't even cause something for the city police to think about."

"Well, we messed up somewhere."

"I'll have to become Melissa McKane, again. So much for staying plain old 'Lily'."

James exhaled deeply, his eyes tracing the scar that stretched an inch from Lily's right ear to her temple. "Say hello to Ryan Matte," he said.

"We're going to have hell to pay for this."

"Yeah," sighed James. "Stupid king, having to be killed."

Lily frowned deeply. "What do you think he was asking for, blackmailing the WIA into banning liquor?"

"It was only a matter of time," James observed.

They both paused, deep in thought about the last mission they'd had to perform together. Normally, assassins worked alone, but Lily and James found that people suspected them less when they believed the couple was just another pair of newlyweds, off on their honeymoon. Their last mission had been to assassinate the King of Magic in a small country in Eastern Europe, Chequoska. This country would have been overlooked as unimportant if it hadn't been the number one manufacturers of wizarding supplies, and also the headquarters for a mafia of vicious, clever people, whose constant goal was to usurp the most powerful positions in the wizard world. Head politicians feared for their life, and had to employ the use of the best bodyguards and Aurors just to watch them as they slept.

The King of Magic in Chequoska had emerged from a hard civil war as the main dictator, much as Napoleon had done in the Muggle world. His reign of terror inspired fear into the hearts of those he ruled, and his totalitarian regime was frowned upon by the various other Ministers, Presidents, and Leaders of Magic. Unlike Napoleon, he hadn't tried to conquer his neighboring countries, but rather, watched and waited. He knew his time would come.

Lily and James had been sent by the WIA (Wizarding Intelligence Agency) to assassinate the King of Magic, but had been unable to carry out their mission due to circumstances out of their control. They'd failed, but they'd been given a second chance…or so they thought.

They'd been sent on this particular assignment because most of Europe feared the new regime, and many didn't like the new ruler, who was rumored to have been an Englishman. (When James had heard that, he'd muttered, "Traitor.") The head of the WIA had been blackmailed into banning liquor throughout Europe, and forcing the rulers to comply. When the news of this reached the populace, they rebelled. Mobs of people tried to storm their assorted leader's offices, while other mobs simply looted stores, crashing windows, and injuring the owners. Chaos reigned. The leaders of the countries found no other choice than to let the liquor-happy mobs have their alcohol again, and the head of the WIA found himself in serious danger. Thus, he sent the two out to do his dirty work for him. Their scheme had been elaborate, intricate, and foolproof, but in the last minute, something had distracted them into failing.

Lily and James' minds returned to their world on the train as the beverage cart passed by them. Any good operations manager knows that a good meal is not something to pass up, especially when embarking on a journey away from men who'd tried to kill them.

After eating their delicious Reuben sandwich, they got off the train, and found themselves in the busy city of Glasgow. They took a cab through the crowded city without looking out the window much. Glasgow was no longer a marvel to them.

Once they reached their chosen hotel, they checked in under their aliases, and made their way up to their room. James and Lily set their luggage in the closet and the bathroom, respectively, and then both sat on the bed. With their fists out, they dueled with rock/paper/scissors. Lily's hand went flat, while James' stayed tightly curled in a fist. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "I still don't understand how a piece a paper can defeat a rock."

"You're just complaining because you have to take the floor!" Lily remarked. "And paper is clearly able to beat rock. The rain, which is considered obvious and unspoken in terms of RPS, makes the paper form a cement over the rock, effectively suffocating it, and rendering it unable to move."

"Silly girl," James muttered. "Like I didn't know that."

"Oh, of course you did," said Lily, facetiously. Their conversation was light and flirty, and James found himself leaning forward. At this sign, Lily positively leapt up, and asked quickly, "What should we do for dinner?"

James leaned back, disappointed. He told himself not to be, for Lily was just keeping with the contract they'd made, when they'd broken up on the last day of school, thinking that they'd both become Aurors, and that they'd needed to be on good terms. James cursed inwardly. Why had they broken up in the first place? Some silly, Hogwarts reason, he was sure. They became friends, even, but they always observed that unspoken pact that demanded no one-night-stands. They'd thought that this would have ruined part of their training as Aurors. After the first three and a half years of their four-year training course, they'd been scouted by the WIA for their quick reflexes and even quicker thinking on their feet. In another year, they were the most efficient and effective at their job, taking the world of undercover agents, spies, and central intelligence by storm. But somehow, they couldn't get out of the rut of being an assassin—they were both much to good at it.

An hour later, they were at a small restaurant, happily eating their meal. James had just bitten into his first bite and was savoring it. "Hey, slob," said Lily, gesturing towards his chin.

James picked up his napkin and dabbed it on his chin. "There. Is that better?"

Lily grinned. "Much." James picked up his fork again with the napkin still in his hand; the result was the clash of his fork hitting the hardwood floor.

"Oops," he said, bending down to reach it. Just then a shot was fired through the large picture window they were eating in front of. All of the glass in the window crashed down in front of them, and the bullet flew past the air where James' head had been a second before. Lily watched the window crash in slow motion; it was a waterfall of glass. She joined James, ducking under the table just in the nick of time, escaping with only a few scratches from the glass she hadn't been fast enough to dodge. James looked up at her, wide-eyed. "We better get out of here."

Lily tilted her arm downwards, making the tip of her wand hit her hand. Now was no time to take precautions for the Muggles: their sight of this would bewilder them, but save their lives. Next to her, James, too, had his wand ready, discretion thrown to the wind. Quickly, he transfigured the shattered glass into a stone wall, which rose up to shield them. Lily cast a Shield Charm all around them as they busted down the door to leave. James bent down and cast a spell on the building. "_Accio_ bullet!" shouted Lily.

Then they both Apparated the hell out of there.

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**Leave a review on the way out. Hope you enjoyed. Check out my other stories, too. They all have the seal of approval from Twighunter.**


	2. That Darned Charlotte

**"Machines"**

_**-Bewilderment**_

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing, just some OC's and whatnot.

That Darned Charlotte

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness, and I'm also sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. But they're in hiding, what could I do. Plenty more, next time, I promise! Keep reading because this is an important chapter, though it is kind of transitional. Now onto the story.**

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In a comfortable flat in Blarney, Ireland, a pretty young blonde woman was making a pie. She was looking in the pantry for her can of apples ("Just as good as fresh!") when a loud "SNAP" made her wheel around to see James Potter and Lily Evans sitting on her counter, each holding a black, sleek suitcase.

"Heavens!" the woman cried, holding a hand over her heart.

"Cut it out, Charlotte," scolded Lily affectionately as she hopped off the counter to embrace Charlotte.

"Where's mine?" asked James as he, too, stepped forward, hugging the very young woman Lily had hated when they were all in the same year at Hogwarts.

"What have you two been doing now that you need to hide out at old Lottie's?" Charlotte ripped apart the packaging around her refrigerated piecrust.

"Apparently, we've been found out," sighed Lily.

"While we were eating dinner, I was almost killed, and we had to Apparate back to our hotel to get our luggage. Then we Apparated here. Why don't you finish the story, Lily," said James, idly watching Charlotte unfold her piecrust and smash it into the side of the pan.

Lily told the story briefly, dwelling on their quick decisions and how well the two assassins worked as a pair. Charlotte seemed impressed by her narrative, but focused on praising James for his fast thinking. Lily sat down, and felt out of place.

In the middle of "And your strong arms, James, that must've really helped," Lily stood up. She observed James's eyes, which were watching Charlotte's pie-making antics with interest. "Can I use your shower, Charlotte?" she asked the blonde.

"Sure," said their involuntary hostess, her eyes never leaving James's.

As soon as Lily reached the upstairs, she stamped her foot.

* * *

Lily fumed. Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte! All this time, she'd been constantly flirting with James. And while Lily told herself that she didn't want James's affection, it still annoyed her that Charlotte was capturing it. Just like she had at Hogwarts. Just like when she and James were a couple.

And plus, Charlotte was a natural blonde. Lily could never forgive that.

When she came back down with a towel wrapped turban-style around her head, she discovered the pie in the oven, looking a dark brown rather than golden. She ignored it, and wondered to herself where her hostess and work partner were.

A sound of moaning wafted over to Lily's ears, coming from Charlottes room. "Oh, James!" The voice was blanketed in laughter, and Lily shut her eyes against the hatred that threatened to consume her.

Suddenly the door burst open, as if someone had been leaning against the door and accidentally turned to handle, which was exactly what had happened. Charlotte tumbled out, landing on her back, which James remained standing. He'd barely caught himself, and stood a little bent over, his face merry. The two were laughing infectiously, but Lily was immune and stood there with her face frozen.

She felt herself trying to smile as the two looked up at her. Her lips were pushing themselves up, attempting to form a smile that felt fake.

"Oh…hey," said James.

Lily forced her smile wider.

"Should we order take-in for dinner? Do they have that here?" asked Lily, desperate to start a conversation.

Charlotte stood up and bustled into the kitchen. "My pie!" she exclaimed, opening the oven and sniffing the burnt pastry. "James! We forgot about the pie!"

"You both seemed too busy to remember a pie," called Lily while she walked toward the newly opened door. Then, in a lower tone, she said to James, "When can we get back on the road?" Charlotte moved about in the kitchen, clanking things loudly as she pretended not to hear their conversation.

"Well, have you done any work on the Haiduc?"

Lily glowered, resenting his patronizing tone. "It's not like I have just been sitting on my ass, getting fat," she retorted.

"It's only been three pounds!" he said, assuming that she referred to his recent weight gain.

"All I know is that I haven't gained anything—and that's if I haven't lost weight."

James turned his head toward Charlotte, and said, "The Haiduc wasn't happy with our last mistake."

Lily exhaled. "Like I didn't know that. But we don't work for him."

"Lily." James's voice was commanding. "The WIA are the ones that had to pay for our mistake. We're not up on the assassin list any more!"

"Oh, go and flirt with our hostess, James. But if you break her heart or she breaks yours, I will kill you for making this hideout more uncomfortable."

James smirked. "Does it occur to me that you're jealous?" The expression on his face was so smug, so self-centered that Lily wanted to deflate it.

"Of what? The way you are blowing our safety right now?" She glared so fiercely that, for a moment, James thought that fire would shoot out of her eyes.

"Go sulk, Lily. Get it over with."

"I have got to get away from you!"

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Lily woke up from a deep sleep, breath slashing out of her lungs. In it, she'd seen the King of Magic's eyes narrowed to slits, staring her down as she adjusted her wand. This man, who'd nicknamed himself the Haiduc (Romanian for "Outlaw"), was one of the most powerful wizards of all time. During that mission, she and James had had the whole thing set up. She was to be the one holding the wand and saying the curse, while James was on the lookout.

Then, a slim young woman Apparated into the hall just as Lily had begun to say the curse. James pushed at her wand-holding arm to stop her from killing this woman, causing the spell to ricochet off the wall, leaving a hole of chipped tile before it settled on an adjacent chair. The chair blew up, sending debris flying and causing a group of guards to run hurriedly around their king, the outlaw.

Their cover was blown.

The King of Magic had them locked up. They escaped with the help of an insider, and moved on in their lives as much as they could. They were severely punished by the WIA. And Lily had to acknowledge that they deserved it because they'd failed.

She never did forget, however, how life in captivity felt. She thought she'd been going crazy with the constant closed walls and the interrogations that were the dominance of her days. It wasn't fair that James had had an easier time of it (as usual) just because he was male. Males always seemed to be able to bond their way out of this horrible trauma, but Lily had her body degraded by slimy comments as she was tickled and cast spells upon. The whole thing was unforgivable. She cursed the wizarding world for coming up with such painful ways of torturing.

Still, the dream had scared her, mostly because of how life-like it had seemed. True to life as well. Hopefully, they could carry on their present mission without the interruption from such petty distractions as Charlotte—then her memory wouldn't have to struggle to adapt to its lack of action by giving her nightmares.

Pshh! thought Lily crossly as she tugged the covers closer around her face. James was just a skirt chaser, which was why he was willing to sacrifice their lives for some floozy. Assassins had to think of themselves. Why wasn't he following that unwritten law?

* * *

Lily awoke next morning to a gray day, which she had come to expect at Charlotte's place. She and James met on their way to use the bathroom, where she whispered, "When can we get back to our mission?"

James understood her hidden question, and said, "I think you ought to be nicer to Charlotte. I mean, she saved our lives. Suck up whatever petty contention you have. This is a matter of life or death."

_Sure, James,_ thought Lily as she swept past him brush her teeth first. _You have _no_ bloody idea. How can I respect someone who is a total slag! She wouldn't have a job without sleeping her way to the top. _She turned on the cold-water tap and irritably jammed her toothbrush under it. _She should probably get checked for those sex diseases they talk about._

After Lily successfully closed him out of the bathroom, James shook his head. That woman was blind to so many things.

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**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for reviews! I love it so much! And I really, truly am sorry for the wait. Thanks to twighunter, Q.O.S., pimpleface, fallen flower, Zombie girl, xxscratch thatxx, and happiness in a bottle. Please review again and next time I'll update faster. Personalized reply: Telwyn Dubois: this may not be the clinching chapter. Wait for the next one to make up your mind, because it'll be better. Is the dialogue better?**

**Review on your way out!**

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